More than 100 people protested Wednesday outside the Springdale office of U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, objecting to Republican policies and their lack of access to the state's junior senator.
Members of Ozark Indivisible say they had visited the offices of the D.C. representatives from their area, and Cotton's representatives were the only ones who refused to hear their concerns.
"We have gone to Sen. [John] Boozman's office, and we have gone to Congressman [Steve] Womack's office, and we've had no issues talking with his staff. But Sen. Cotton, all of his offices are locked," Caitlynn Moses, one of the group's organizers, said in a telephone interview.
Unlike the other members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, Cotton requires constituents to schedule appointments to visit his in-state offices.
The activists had obtained an appointment for Wednesday, but Cotton's representative canceled it without explanation Tuesday afternoon, the Fayetteville woman said.
"I replied after I saw the email, at 1:46 -- less than 20 minutes after I got it," Moses said. "I said that canceling an appointment that I'd had for two weeks with less than 24 hours advance notice and no mention of rescheduling was unacceptable. I got no response to the email. No one answered the phone. No one returned the messages I left."
Cotton's staff members had already rescheduled the meeting once and had capped the number of visitors at five, Moses said.
Moses expressed frustration with the barriers Cotton has in place and questioned why he isn't holding town hall meetings where voters are free to speak to him.
"He doesn't want to talk to us. He doesn't think he has to talk to us. It's frustrating, that's for sure," the Fayetteville woman said.
A spokesman for the senator, C̶a̶r̶o̶l̶y̶n̶* Caroline Rabbitt, said the staff member had been unable to attend because of personal reasons and that another date would be arranged. She indicated that Cotton will hold town hall meetings in Arkansas later this year, although no dates have been set.
Originally, Ozark Indivisible members planned to voice their support for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But their agenda expanded after President Donald Trump issued new executive orders and picked key members of the new administration.
At the time of the scheduled appointment Wednesday, at least 120 protesters lined both sides of Old Missouri Road in front of Cotton's local office, which was locked and had the lights turned off. Many waved signs opposing Trump's executive order restricting refugees' travel or calling for the continuation of the Affordable Care Act. Drivers in some of the cars traveling along the street honked as they passed.
The Northwest Arkansas protesters weren't the only ones unable to visit with Cotton staff members.
Activists were also denied entry this week at Cotton's Little Rock office.
Signs are posted on Cotton's office doors, stating: "Entrance by appointment only" and "Absolutely no photography or recording without prior permission."
Sarah Scanlon, a Democrat who ran U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign in Arkansas, posted video of the protesters being turned away Tuesday after they sought a meeting in Cotton's Little Rock office.
Scanlon and others had met once last month with one of Cotton's representatives, later posting video of the exchange online.
Cotton's office restrictions, she said, are inappropriate.
"We're the people that put him into office. He's representing Arkansas. How does he represent us if he doesn't give us an opportunity to express our opinions?" Scanlon said.
The decision to block visitors is a break from past administrations. Traditionally, Arkansans have been free to stop by their lawmakers' district offices.
In a text, former U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor said he had an open-door policy when he represented the state.
"My view was that Arkansans were always welcome in my office," the Democrat said. "It was really their office after all."
Former U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln also allowed visitors to stop by unannounced, according to Robert Holifield, who was staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry when Lincoln, a Democrat, was its chairman.
It was "not uncommon that someone would just walk in and want to talk to someone about a particular issue," he said.
Rabbitt said the appointments policy was instituted when the senator took office in January 2015.
"For the safety and security of our staff, we prefer for people to make an appointment to see them. In addition, our staff is often traveling around the state serving constituents, so it's better for scheduling purposes if you make an appointment," she said.
A meeting with members of Ozark Indivisible will take place at a later date, she said. "We apologized in our email, and we understand they're upset and we look forward to rescheduling," she added.
The restrictions adopted by Cotton's office haven't caught on with others in the Arkansas congressional delegation, all Republicans.
"All AR-1 constituents are welcome and are in fact encouraged to visit either my D.C. office or one of my district offices in Jonesboro, Cabot, or Mountain Home. While an appointment is not necessary, we will be better prepared to assist constituents if they call the office in advance," said the 1st District's U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro via email. "I think it's important to maintain an open-door policy so that folks know that they have that direct link to their Representative in the U.S. Congress."
His other colleagues from Arkansas have similar policies.
"We'll meet with anyone that wants to come in and have a meeting. That's basically it," said Ryan Saylor, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman.
Mike Siegel, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock, said the congressman's Conway office welcomed a group of College Democrats earlier this week.
"We have a very open policy towards visitors," he said. "We want them to be able to voice their opinion and know that we're listening."
Claire Burghoff, a spokesman for Womack of Rogers, said appointments are welcome but "certainly not required."
"The office is there to serve our constituents," she said.
The office of Boozman of Rogers doesn't turn anyone away, his spokesman Patrick Creamer said.
Whenever constituents share their views about legislation with staff members in Arkansas, the information is forwarded to the senator on Capitol Hill, he said.
"Arkansans are always welcome to come share their views, and the staff does relay that [information] to Sen. Boozman," he added.
Currently, it's Trump opponents who are trying to get their Republican lawmakers' attention. But in past years, when the Democrats were in power, opponents of President Barack Obama were often the ones voicing frustration.
Holifield, the former Lincoln staff member, said he remembers what it's like to hear from large numbers of unhappy constituents.
People were especially vocal, he noted, during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, legislation that Lincoln ultimately supported.
"We met with a lot of big groups that were absolutely opposed to positions that Sen. Lincoln was taking," he said.
Holifield also remembers trying to balance safety and accessibility, worrying about the well-being of the young men and women who performed so much of the office's work.
"It's not easy being a U.S. senator, it's not easy running a Senate office, it's not easy being a staffer," he said.
Metro on 02/02/2017
*CORRECTION: U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s spokesman is Caroline Rabbitt. A previous version of this story misspelled her first name.